Rabbit Heart
by Cherry tiger
Summary: 9 short snippets of Akane Kurashiki  June  and her journey from the beginning until the end of the Nonary Game. Big spoilers for those who never finished the game!


**Notes:** I kept my summary as spoiler-free as possible, but I'll give a proper explanation here so do expect **spoilers**. I cannot emphasize this enough.

These are actually short snippets I wrote based on a couple of songs I had gathered that was meant to be used as a fanmix for June/Akane and her journey as Zero. (One of the songs was "Rabbit Heart" by Florence + The Machine, thus the title). The fanmix was simple, and I tried to keep the snippets simple and in line with the songs I chose, but the ideas kept growing. In the end, I had trouble finding songs to fit the extra snippets of Akane I had in mind, which had now grown to (surprise, surprise!) 9 snippets. So I scrapped the fanmix idea and decided to keep the snippets. If you would still like the fanmix, do let me know. I'll see what I can do about that.

As for the snippets, I've left a lot of things kind of vague as I didn't want to be detailed (the game itself is detailed on its own). So I merely focused on certain aspects about Akane's journey and wrote on those. And then I added an extra ending which I decided was how I'd picture Akane once the game ended. Expect lots of Akane/Junpei in these snippets.

This is my second time writing for 999. If I made any mistakes with any of the details or characterizations, ANYTHING! Just let me know and I'll work on it. This will also help me cause I have plans on maybe writing for Clover... if all goes well. Suggestions and input are definitely welcome.

Till then, enjoy!

* * *

><p>If she had a choice, Akane would have never wanted this to happen. She would have never wanted to be kidnapped and put through the suffering she was in. Here she was, on a ship, fighting for her life... all because of her ability.<p>

And just when she thought everything was going to be okay, she was dragged back into hell, where death awaited her. This was it. This was the end. Nothing could save her now...

_Jumpy..._

And it was then that her true ability to tap into the morphic field played in, and a new part of her emerged.

Zero.

oOo

It scared her. It was new, it was beyond her comprehension. But right before her eyes, laid many paths of which she had no idea where it would end. Then she realized she was not in her own body. Through whose eyes was she looking through now? Whose feelings or sensations were these?

As she began to familiarize herself with her current situation, it all became clear to her now. This was her way of saving herself. The roads will be paved with pain and suffering, but she will find a way out. One where everyone will be saved.

Including herself.

Let the games begin.

oOo

In order to set her plans in motion, she saw herself doing a lot of things. Terrible things. Many of which she had never thought she could possibly do... but it was there, and it was the only way to save her.

She wanted to cry, scream in protest. She was going to hurt a lot of people if she did that. Maybe she really was better off dead? Like the rabbits she was supposed to protect in her childhood that were killed... sacrificed for the amusement of others... she should end up dead, too.

Her childhood... She could suddenly feel the doll that a childhood friend had given her gripped tightly in her hands.

_Jumpy._

She apologized. Over and over again like a chant, hoping it would be enough to be forgiven for the sins she was about to commit. Then she finally steeled her resolve... and began to plan with her brother, Aoi, on how to reset the Nonary game in the future.

No, she cannot die now.

oOo

There she stood. Dressed in thick clothes with a deep hood and a bulky gas mask that truly represented who she had truly become now. She merely stared as she watched Junpei enter his apartment. He moved in casually, unaware of her presence.

_Jumpy... Jumpy... Jumpy..._

She had already set the sleeping gas on the moment he entered the room. She watched as he finally realized her presence and turned to react, his face filled with shock and confusion.

Then he was on the ground, crumbling like a discarded puppet. His eyes were glazing over now, staring around, trying to make sense of where he was.

_Jumpy... Jumpy... Jumpy..._

I'm sorry...

Akane moved in closer, her voice cold and mechanical within the mask. "Consider this a privilege. You have been chosen."

oOo

It was interesting to watch the man who had put her through all this pain now moving on his own path to madness. She had discovered that he would killed almost everyone, from the participants of the Nonary game to his once trusted allies... He would kill them all for the chance to survive.

She watched him break down as he was trapped in the incinerator. Snake laid dead on the ground. Akane already knew this was the wrong path the moment Clover had died, but she kept watching on, hoping to find a clue that will save them in the next path.

She could hear the man crying out in despair. "Why me? I don't deserve this! Answer me! Zero! ZEROOOOO!"

She should be concerned by her lack of feelings, but there was no ounce of sympathy in her heart as she watched him burn in that one moment. Even though she knew his death would add on to the pain she had from choosing the wrong path, in that one moment... She felt nothing at all.

oOo

It was not the same when she saw the death of the other players, especially Junpei. No one was supposed to die. No, not even the Ninth Man.

No matter how she told herself that she could change this future, that there has to be a way to save them, to save him... a sense of loss and pain, burning and threatening to consume her, washed over her as she had watched Junpei die over and over again. Watched and felt him writhe and take his last, shallow breaths before finally being still.

Sometimes it made her wish she had never gotten him involved. But as Junpei held her close in those moments where she was going to die before him, she could sense his desperation to keep her alive... to keep her close to him.

That he never wanted to let her go.

It was enough to take the pain she was currently bearing and to keep looking for an answer.

oOo

Despite having honed her ability to manipulate the morphic fields and having seen and felt everything through Junpei, nothing could prepare her for that moment where he actually acknowledged her and cried out loud that he was going to save her.

A burst of warmth swept through her. It was neither scorching nor painful like those moments where she knew she had taken the wrong path. No, this was comforting, and she had never felt more safe or secure than at that moment.

With tears streaming down her face, she had finally found the future she had been looking for.

oOo

When the time came, she knew she had to run. Even though it broke her heart, even though she knew she had to see Junpei one more time and explain it all to him, she knew this was not possible.

Because she was a monster, and he should not associate himself with her. She was no longer the innocent, caring Akane that he once knew. She had seen and done terrible things, and nothing could ever change that.

He was better off forgetting her.

oOo

The hot, harsh wind blew against Akane's now stoic face as they drove across the desert. Aoi was behind the wheel and she could feel his eyes glancing towards her occasionally. She knew what he was thinking. While they should rejoice over the fact that their plan had worked, and that she was still alive, they couldn't find it within themselves to even smile. So they kept silent.

Until Aoi spoke up. "It feels strange to see you with that face again."

"What face?" she replied.

"That face," he emphasised. "Even though it was a short time in that ship, you had a different face, a different aura around you that's nothing like the way you are now and the times we planned this game. Is it because of your precious Jumpy?"

Akane knew he was trying to joke, to lighten up the mood. But it did nothing to her. "This is the real me, and you know that. Who I was in that ship was nothing more than a projection of what Junpei would see me as since he last saw me. It was to make sure he didn't suspect me."

"Really? Even though that projection made you happier than I've ever seen you in years?"

Akane was surprised by this statement. But she carefully kept her surprise hidden as she said, "This isn't the time to worry about this, we have to plan our next move now. Most importantly, we have to make sure all the participants of the Nonary Game, besides Hongou, are innocent from the murders that occured in the ship... and because we're guilty of kidnapping and endangering their lives, we have to stay far, far away from them."

Her brother merely nodded as Akane slipped back to looking out the open window. She began to wonder if she really did look happy, or was her brother lying? No, he may be right. Her mind wandered at her time with Junpei, despite being so short, and remembered the moment when he acknowledged her presence in the past.

She looked out the window, still thinking of him when a voice echoed through her head.

_Kanny..._

She blinked. Jumpy? Was the morphic field working even now? It can't be... there was no way the both of them could still be connected in this way... yet she could feel him. It was faint, but she could sense that warm comfort he had always given her. Where was it coming from? She closed her eyes, trying to focus, but she still couldn't make out what he was saying. His voice was still too far away.

Then it occured to her. Her eyes snapped open and she reached into her pocket where the doll had been kept throughout her entire journey. Instantly, his voice reached her, loud and clear.

_Kanny... I'll look for you... I'll find you, no matter how long it takes..._

_**Wait for me...**_

To Aoi's surprise, tears began to stream down Akane's face. "Oi, are you all right?" he asked.

Akane merely smiled at him as her tears continued to flow. "I can still sense him... I can still feel Jumpy... I can still feel... how much he loves me..."

She had now began to sob, bending forward and clutching the doll close to her chest. Aoi braked, stopping in the middle of the desert in surprise. He watched her crying figure for a moment, looking completely broken and holding on to the doll fervently.

"Akane..." was all Aoi could muster before reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder.

The pain was a lot worst than she had imagined. She had thought that by keeping him safe and away from her, everything would be fine. Life would carry on. He would see her as a monster, unworthy of his love or attention. That she should move on and plan her next move.

Instead, he still cared about her and wanted to see her. She knew this was not possible, that this will never happen. And so she cried out of anguish, from the pain of having to hurt him once more and that she will never be able to see him again.

But a part of her was glad, so glad... that despite knowing who she truly was and had become, Jumpy still loved her.

_Jumpy... Jumpy... Jumpy..._


End file.
